This Gallup survey reports that Americans view lawyers negatively. Perhaps the survey respondents should get to know Chris Beechler, a criminal defense attorney from Winston-Salem. This Winston-Salem Journal article describes Chris as a “clothes horse,” an “amateur comedian,” and as a “guy who looks a little bit like Fred Flintstone.” I’ve known Chris for several years through the North Carolina Bar Association, and can affirm that he is as nice a guy as you would ever hope to meet. But the best way to characterize Chris now is as a lifesaver. The newspaper notes that a couple of months ago, Chris was catching up over lunch with fellow lawyer Dave Pishko. The latter mentioned that his hereditary kidney disease was getting worse and that his doctors had suggested that it was almost time to start looking for a transplant donor. “[Chris’s] reaction was, ‘I’ll give you one. I’ll get tested,’” Pishko said. “It stunned me. We’ve been friends for a long time. He didn’t hesitate. Chris can kid around, but he made sure I knew he was serious and that I didn’t have to ask.” And so the testing began. Round after round, it’s a tedious and time-consuming process with plenty of built-in opportunities for a would-be donor to back out. By all accounts, Beechler never considered backing out. Even though he had plenty of reasons to, including an 11-month-old son named Cash. He gathered all the evidence. He consulted his family, doctors and other donors before making his decision. “You [...]
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